The lounge was completely empty.
Chu Tianqing carefully surveyed the layout of the room.
This entire floor was dedicated to intensive care units, with noticeably fewer people coming and going than the floor below.
The VIP lounge required a keycard to enter.
She held a universal access card for all hospital VIP lounges, given to her by Assistant Sun.
Chu Tianqing glanced at her phone—ten minutes until two.
It was about time; she had arrived a bit early.
After a morning of gathering information up and down the floors,
Chu Tianqing had used fruit, snacks, an innocent smile, and a "fabricated" tragic backstory to quickly build rapport with the caregivers, nurses, and cleaners in the hallways and lounges, successfully integrating herself into their circle.
From them, she learned—
The clan elders stationed outside Lin Zhichen's special care unit, the vice president of the Lin Group, would without fail head to the third-floor VIP lounge for tea every day after their afternoon nap.
The middle-aged and elderly men had already become famous throughout the inpatient building.
They sported slicked-back hairstyles so polished that even a fly would slip right off; some, trying to hide their baldness, forcibly swept their side hair across their entire scalp.
They dressed uniformly in Chinese-style silk suits, wore at minimum a Rolex "Daytona" on their wrists, and sported a massive green jade thumb ring.
Each of the elders carried a pair of red, polished walnuts or a string of small-leaf rosewood prayer beads in their hands.
These old men of varying heights and builds were accompanied by four security guards in black suits.
With such a stereotypical image, Chu Tianqing didn't need to search specifically—she just asked casually, and everyone knew exactly who they were.
She also learned that when the clan elders had their afternoon tea, they would have security clear the area, reserving the VIP lounge exclusively for themselves.
However, there was an exception.
On the first floor's staff break room, Chu Tianqing had struck up a conversation with a cleaning lady.
The cleaning lady lowered her voice and said, "Little sister, the other day I went to empty the trash in the lounge and found that besides them, there were two pretty young girls in there too. From their chatter, they were visiting their grandfather."
"Oh?" Chu Tianqing's interest was piqued.
The cleaning lady held her water cup and said animatedly, "Those two girls were dressed about the same as you—clearly college students, and just as pretty as you. Those old men didn't kick them out of the lounge."
Chu Tianqing stuffed another handful of chocolates into the lady's pocket and hurried upstairs.
This matched her stereotype of old men perfectly.
Old men couldn't take their eyes off young girls so fresh they could be squeezed for water.
With the money, power, and social status they'd accumulated, they wouldn't do anything to young girls in public.
But they were long accustomed to having pretty young women and men as their service staff or receptionists wherever they went.
The hospital lounge naturally didn't meet that standard.
But what if there were pleasing young people there?
Just looking at beautiful young kids put the old men in a good mood, so naturally they wouldn't demand security clear the area.
These Lin clan elders had only seen Chu Tianqing twice.
The first time was after the original owner had signed the marriage agreement with Lin Sinian.
Lin Sinian had brought her to a business event, introducing her to the family as his fiancée.
The original owner had specifically hired a makeup artist specializing in Western-style looks, creating a stunning mixed-race appearance.
With double-layered false lashes and pouty lips, the original owner made a dazzling entrance in a red dress.
The clan elders' eyes nearly fell into their champagne glasses—they thought Lin Sinian was marrying a foreign girl?
The second time was on the wedding day.
The original owner's aesthetic was consistent—the bridal makeup was also heavily Western-style, deliberately contouring high cheekbones and deeper skin tone. Even her own mother wouldn't have recognized her.
Now, Chu Tianqing sat in the VIP lounge with no makeup, dressed simply and cleanly, wearing a baseball cap.
You could pass her off as a high school student without any issue.
Even if she stood right in front of the clan elders, they absolutely wouldn't recognize her.
Just in case,
Chu Tianqing pulled a pale pink Hello Kitty patterned mask from her hoodie pocket and put it on.
She curled up in a corner playing on her phone—a position that allowed her to advance or retreat with ease.
It was easy to leave, and she could see the lounge entrance at a glance.
The voices of several middle-aged and elderly men grew closer—
"Second Brother, it really seems like Lin Zhichen has no hope?"
"The attending physician said Lin Zhichen is almost certainly not going to wake up. The brain damage is too severe."
"Fourth Brother, don't block the doorway—let's go inside to talk…"
Chu Tianqing stood up, slipping into character in an instant.
Tears fell like beads from a broken string, sliding from the corners of her eyes as she sobbed and walked to the water dispenser by the entrance.
The lounge entrance was narrow.
Standing there filling her cup, she naturally blocked the path of the several elders.
Before security could speak, Chu Tianqing tilted her head up slightly, revealing her tearful, pitiful almond-shaped eyes as she looked at the three old men before her.
"Uncle, I'm sorry, I'll be done filling my cup in just a moment…"
Her voice was soft and sweet as she raised a hand to wipe the corner of her eye, choking out, "You look so much like my father… sob sob sob… I hope my dad gets better soon too."
"Little girl, you should go rest on the lower floor…" Security made a move to shoo her away.
The tall, heavyset man raised his hand dismissively. "She's just a young girl, no harm in letting her stay."
"Little sister, you're still in high school, right? Don't cry—crying makes you less pretty." The short, stout man handed her a tissue with a smile.
The beanpole-thin man shot the security guard a cold look. "No need to guard against the girl. Go buy some cake and milk tea a young girl would like."
"Yes, sir…" The bodyguard company boss stepped outside and wiped the sweat from his brow.
Those three old geezers were way too two-faced.
"Thank you, uncles." Chu Tianqing said her thanks obediently, picked up her water cup, and returned to her corner seat.
She pretended to fiddle with her phone for a while, then hunched over her notebook, doodling turtles.
Her phone, face-down, had already quietly pressed the record button.
Chu Tianqing's ears perked up like a puppy's, straining to catch every word of the old men's conversation.
By the end, she drew in a sharp breath: Whoa.
These old men, who looked so kind and genial—were actually this ruthless?
From the old geezers' dialogue, Chu Tianqing pieced together the intertwined early lives of Lin Sinian and his cousin Lin Zhichen.
Lin Sinian's older sister and brother-in-law had died in an accident when he was twenty-two.
The entire family on the brother-in-law's side perished in that accident—except for his little niece, Lin Nanxi, who survived only because she'd soiled her clothes and been taken back to the hotel by the nanny to change.
That same year, his cousin Lin Zhichen's parents also died in an accident.
Lin Zhichen's powerful maternal family was nearly wiped out, leaving only his lone aunt, Chen Qingci, barely holding together the once-glorious Chen Media Group.
Lin Sinian had been studying abroad at the time and flew back overnight to handle his sister's funeral arrangements.
The Lin family held two funerals in quick succession.
At his uncle's funeral, Lin Sinian saw his seventeen-year-old cousin digging his fingers into his palms until they bled, holding back tears. His heart went out to him.
Later, Lin Sinian struck out on his own and took in both his seventeen-year-old cousin Lin Zhichen and his nine-year-old niece Lin Nanxi.
Lin Zhichen had a sharp business mind. After studying abroad and returning, he joined the group and became his brother's right hand, fighting alongside Lin Sinian through a brutal power struggle.
In the end, Lin Sinian claimed the position of Chairman and CEO of the Lin Group.
Lin Zhichen became the group's youngest vice president.
From the old geezers' tone, Chu Tianqing sensed that, for some reason, they were terrified of Lin Sinian.
Though, to be fair—Lin Sinian had only lost his memory. Who knew when it might all come back?
He was the man who'd forced his own father to step down. Ruthless, merciless, with business acumen no one could match.
The sprawling Lin clan had already been cleaned up by Lin Sinian.
The few uncles and elders with the highest prestige had long lost the grip on the group they once held. They were now nothing more than mascots.
Besides, they were counting on Lin Sinian to keep slaving away for the group, to sustain the family's massive trusts and dividends.
Their attitude toward Lin Zhichen was a different story.
A comatose vice president, already given a death sentence by the doctors, was of no use to the group.
Even if Lin Zhichen woke up years later, he'd just be dead weight. Better he stayed asleep forever—they'd wait for the right moment to carve up his shares.
The old men of the Lin clan were like a flock of vultures circling a dying young lion.
The moment the lion breathed its last, the vultures would swarm in for the feast.
That evening, back at the villa.
Chu Tianqing couldn't wait to send everything she'd learned to Shen Xinglan.
"Babe! I got the juiciest gossip on the Lin family—this family drama runs deep, listen to this…"
Chu Tianqing, wearing her earbuds, chatted with Shen Xinglan over voice call, spilling every detail of her two bargain-bin husbands' miserable early years.
She was gesturing wildly, clearly having the time of her life with the gossip.
Shen Xinglan's voice on the other end remained calm and steady: "I made good progress today too. Found some useful information."
"Qingqing, I thought you were already high-energy—running around all day like a beagle with pent-up energy. But compared to the original owner, you're way behind. She was the real time-management master."
Chu Tianqing blinked in disbelief. "Even more energetic than me?"
She was the queen of hustle—two straight months of summer break sleeping only three or four hours a night, filming thirty short dramas back-to-back, guest-starring in ten web series, and juggling countless gig jobs as an extra.
Shen Xinglan had to admit: "Her chat logs and search history are a massive database. You can't even imagine how much the original owner got up to."
Chu Tianqing was genuinely impressed: "No wonder she could play Lin Sinian like a dog. I really want to ask the original owner to teach me how to crack Lin Sinian—the man's a fortress."
"Still no progress? I found some of the original owner's…" Shen Xinglan's tone hesitated slightly, "…should I call it a strategy guide?"
"What strategy guide?" Chu Tianqing perked up with interest.
Shen Xinglan cleared her throat. "Ahem. The original owner didn't take the same route you're taking."
"What route did she take?"
Chu Tianqing immediately whipped out her little notebook, eager to learn from her predecessor's experience.
Shen Xinglan: "Simple, crude, forced love. Though honestly, I get the feeling the original owner only had the 'forced' part—no love involved."
Chu Tianqing's small head was filled with big question marks.
Shen Xinglan: "The original owner's search history is way too entertaining. Are you at your computer? I'll send it over for you to see."
Chu Tianqing immediately opened her computer and saw the screenshot Shen Xinglan had sent—
[Special Uses of Purified Obedience Water]
[Detailed Blueprints of a Private Villa Secret Room]
[Practical Guide to High-IQ Individuals Seeking HighH Discipline and Training]
[How to Trick an Amnesiac CEO into Signing a Guardianship Agreement]
[How Many Obedience Candies Before Addiction? For an Adult Male 187cm Tall, 68kg]
Chu Tianqing didn't immediately find the original owner terrifying—instead, a cold sweat ran down her back.
"Lanlan, if I fail the mission and can't get back, when you return to the third dimension, make sure you wipe my D drive, E drive, F drive, and all our chat history, file shares, and browsing records! Remember, permanent deletion!"
If Chu Tianqing's chat history with her best friend were ever exposed, she could be sentenced to "death" several times over.
Shen Xinglan's voice was calm: "If you fail the mission and can't get back, I won't leave either."
"Ugh, why do you have to get all sentimental at a time like this." Chu Tianqing felt warm and fuzzy inside.
The two steered the conversation back on track.
Chu Tianqing: "So the original owner never actually got Lin Sinian's true love?"
Shen Xinglan: "That's unclear, but based on the search records, the original owner was planning to simply and crudely imprison Lin Sinian, locking him in the secret room of the villa."
"She'd already ordered the Obedience Water and Obedience Candy, and even found the contractor for the secret room—she just hadn't made her move yet."
Chu Tianqing's temple twitched: "That's way too 'criminal,' and from Lin Sinian's car accident to me transmigrating here, she managed to do all that in less than a day…"
Now that was a truly high-energy person.
Chu Tianqing recalled the original novel.
The author hadn't mentioned any of this at all—the entire story was devoted to various kinds of play.
She guessed that after Lin Sinian lost his memory, his wife abused him with drugs and psychological control, creating a pathological dependency?
Or maybe it wasn't "dependency" at all, but the despair of being unable to resist and forced to passively accept.
But the damn system actually defined this as true love?
What kind of true love was that!
Shen Xinglan's voice interrupted Chu Tianqing's righteous indignation.
"Qingqing, do you want to try the original owner's method?"
"Forget it." Chu Tianqing collapsed onto the sofa and scratched her head. Being a villainous female supporting character wasn't easy…
Shen Xinglan said calmly, "If it were me, I couldn't bring myself to do it either. If only we could get Lin Sinian's computer—I could analyze his preferences and help you find a way to win him over."
"His computer?"
Chu Tianqing jumped up from the sofa and "clatter-clatter-clatter" ran up to the study on the third floor.
This was her first time stepping into Lin Sinian's territory.
Pushing open the study door, Chu Tianqing beamed: "Lin Sinian's desktop is at home—maybe we can find something useful?"
Shen Xinglan: "I'll take a look this weekend. For now, keep raising your affection points your way."
Chu Tianqing carefully reviewed her interactions with Lin Sinian over the past day, lost in thought.
"I feel like… his attitude toward me has changed a little?"
"Changed how?"
Chu Tianqing spoke with unearned confidence: "Today when I was eating, he glanced at me several times. Isn't that because I look beautiful when I eat?"
"Sure, sure." Shen Xinglan's tone was guilty yet doting.
She thought to herself: Isn't it because you eat so fast you look like a puppy that hasn't eaten in ten days, and the refined gentleman was startled into looking at you?
But Shen Xinglan couldn't bear to crush her best friend's enthusiasm.
"Qingqing, keep it up. My parents are calling me for dinner—I'll head off first."
Chu Tianqing was like an overexcited puppy on adrenaline: "Awooo! Let's both keep going!"
Before the weekend arrived.
Chu Tianqing went to the third-floor VIP lounge every day to "eavesdrop."
The more intel they gathered on the Lin clan, the better.
In the evenings when she got home, she also began slowly exploring the villa's ten-thousand-square-meter garden.
Near the artificial lake, she discovered a small vegetable patch.
It was previously tended by the gardener, supplying organic vegetables for Lin Sinian and Lin Nanxi.
Chu Tianqing drooled at the vegetables, crouched in the field, and bit into a raw tomato. She planned to beg Shen Xinglan to make spicy hot pot with them when she came on the weekend.
Beside the vegetable patch was a large bed of roses, blooming brilliantly.
So every morning, Chu Tianqing would "shear some wool" from the yard for free and bring it to Lin Sinian as a gift.
Wednesday, she brought a bunch of freshly picked cherry tomatoes.
Thursday, she carried sweet-and-sour wild raspberries into the ward.
Friday, she brought a bouquet of roses picked from the backyard.
Paired with a cheesy line of Chu Tianqing-style flirty talk, her daily "conquest" mission was complete.
Then Chu Tianqing would busy herself in the ward.
Discussing the "marriage to ward off evil" plan with her best friend on the computer, continuing to go deep into the masses for intel, focusing on lunch at noon, and eavesdropping on the Lin clan in the afternoon…
At exactly five o'clock, she left on the dot.
Friday afternoon.
Even Lin Sinian, as slow as he was, sensed something was off.
Why did it feel like…
His little wife came and went on a strict schedule, clocking in and out like she was punching a time card?
"Ah, my neck is so sore. My cervical spine…"
Chu Tianqing groaned as she closed her laptop and stretched her neck.
She scratched at her neck with both hands, treating it as a makeshift massage.
She glanced at the wall clock—it was almost exactly five o'clock. She immediately packed up her things, ready to head home.
Tomorrow was Saturday, and her niece Lin Nanxi would be coming home in the morning.
But Chu Tianqing's precious darling Shen Xinglan was coming to reunite with her tonight!
Chu Tianqing had already planned out how to spend this wonderful weekend—even a book transmigration workhorse deserved her days off.
"I'm heading out, bye~" Chu Tianqing slung her backpack over her shoulders, waved at Lin Sinian, and bounced out of the ward.
Lin Sinian gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.
The ward door closed, and Chu Tianqing's playful high ponytail swayed out of sight behind it.
Lin Sinian put down his book, noticing that she hadn't said "see you tomorrow" today?
He picked up his phone and searched a few keywords in his email: "Assistant Sun."
"Here, Chairman Lin." Assistant Sun looked up from his computer.
Lin Sinian: "The design department's neck massager that won the Red Dot Design Award and the iF Design Award—have one delivered tomorrow."
"Understood." Assistant Sun relayed the order to the president's office, then hesitated before asking, "Should I consult a doctor first to see if your condition allows you to use it?"
Lin Sinian looked down at his book: "It's not for me."
Assistant Sun smiled: "You're thinking of your wife."
Lin Sinian furrowed his brow—he just didn't want her yapping randomly.
His head throbbed again. He closed the book and shut his eyes, the scent of roses lingering around the tip of his nose.
Tomorrow was Saturday.
He wondered what kind of "junk" she'd bring over in the morning.